~ COMING SOON ~

Welcome to the future home of Step By Step, at:

AND THE

A Familiar Place with a New Vision, this project will revive the legacy of the former Van Lierop Farm. Imagine a place that preserves a legacy, cultivates hope, invests in families, and brings pride to a community. This site will celebrate family, encourage positive relationships and connections, and provide a vibrant place that will not only be a unique resource for the community but will also leave a lasting legacy and improve the quality of life for all our families.

Early Childhood Educational Center

What is Happening Right Now:

WE ARE SEEKING FUNDING PARTNERS TO HELP PROVIDE THE REMAINING FUNDS NEEDED TO COMPLETE RENOVATIONS AND PREPARE THE SITE FOR USE.

News & Events

UPDATE: October 25, 2018

WEEK 1 OF CONSTRUCTION!

When we saw the walls of the future classrooms being framed yesterday, it took our breath away!

Construction is officially fully underway for the Legacy in Motion Project! After years of planning and struggling through fundraising, development, and an extensive permitting process, it is surreal to see what we’ve envisioned and dreamed of finally starting to come to life..

UPDATE: September 5, 2018

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY

Thank you to everyone who attended our event to celebrate breaking ground on the future Germaine Korum Center! After years of hard work, planning, and fundraising, we are extremely excited to have reached this milestone.

A few highlights from the ceremony - Neil and Lore Van Lierop joined us to celebrate the beginning of this new legacy on their prior farmland. The shovels we used during the ceremony were originally used on the farm. And, all of our cookies and refreshments were homemade for our guests by local Step By Step moms.

We hosted a joint ceremony alongside the City of Puyallup, as they are also breaking ground on the land adjacent to ours, which will become a new community park, named after the Van Lierop family who previously worked this land for generations.

Tacoma Weekly, August 23rd, 2018

LOCAL NONPROFIT SEEKS $2.5 MILLION TO FINISH MARATHON FUNDRAISING GOAL, COMPLETE CENTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Krista Linden understands endurance. A mother to seven daughters and a recent Ironman 70.3 finisher, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Step By Step is ready for the next big finish.

Step By Step, which helps at-risk mothers support healthy babies from pregnancy through infancy, started a marathon fundraiser that has secured $7 million aimed at finishing a massive project to preserve an iconic bulb farm in Puyallup and create the organization’s Germaine Korum Center for Women and Children.

SEATTLE DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, OCTOBER 23RD, 2017

NONPROFIT MOVING AHEAD ON PLAN TO DEVELOP 6-ACRE SITE IN PUYALLUP

The Puyallup-based nonprofit Step By Step said it will start applying for permits soon to develop a six-acre site at the former Van Lierop Bulb Farm in Puyallup.

Jeff Brown Architecture is the architect and Mountain Construction is the general contractor.

Step By Step wants to turn the site at 13407 80th St. E. into a multi-service center that will offer education and job-training services for its clients. The group is also planning a 420-person event space, a training kitchen, greenhouse, farm-to-table restaurant and catering services.

THE TACOMA WEEKLY, OCTOBER 5TH, 2017

VAN LIEROP BULB FARM TO BEGIN NEW LEGACY

Local nonprofit Step By Step is optimistic that it will break ground at the Puyallup valley’s former Van Lierop Bulb Farm site by the end of the year. The organization is working to repurpose the site into a multi-service center that will offer education and job training facilities for the women they serve, including a wedding and event venue and onsite restaurant and catering services.

Krista Linden, founder and executive director of Step By Step, says initial conversations for the center began more than six years ago, when the organization identified a need to better support the disadvantaged women with young children they serve in their efforts to obtain gainful employment.

City of Puyallup, JANUARY 20TH, 2017

SPOTLIGHT ON STEP BY STEP

Step By Step at the Germaine Korum Center for Women and Children (named for one of its benefactors) will feature large event spaces, a restaurant and a coffee shop that will provide unique on-the-job training opportunities for women who are looking to build their customer service skills and gain work experience in order to seek full-time employment.

THE NEWS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 5TH, 2016

As its name suggests, nonprofit organization Step By Step is one step closer to beginning construction on a project meant to create job training for disadvantaged mothers on the homestead of what was once the Van Lierop Bulb Farm in Puyallup.

UPDATE: December 22,2016

DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF PUYALLUP

After months of work, research, and analysis, Step By Step's Advisory Council and Development Team successfully submitted the master site plan and development agreement for the Germaine Korum Center for Women and Children to the City of Puyallup for review.

Tacoma Weekly, JANUARY 28th, 2016

CITY OF PUYALLUP, STEP BY STEP FINALIZE PURCHASE OF VAN LIEROP BULB FARM

“We call this a triple win, a win for so many people,” Deputy Mayor John Palmer said.

The project could not have been completed and brought to life without the efforts of [Krista] Linden.

“Things like this don’t happen because the seven smartest people are sitting in a room coming up with it. Things like this happen because of people in the community who have a vision, who work through the process to make things happen,” Puyallup City Councilmember Tom Swanson said.

Smarter Government WA, JANUARY 4TH, 2016

KRISTA RECEIVES 'BRIGHT LIGHT AWARD' FOR HER WORK WITH STEP BY STEP & THE LEGACY IN MOTION PROJECT

State Rep. Hans Zeiger, who nominated Linden as a Bright Light, had high praise for her and Step By Step:

Krista Linden has devoted her life to helping at-risk moms overcome obstacles and live great lives. She has built an extraordinary non-profit organization called Step By Step with services around the Puget Sound area, with a mission “to transform the lives of at-risk pregnant women, so they will deliver a healthy baby, embrace positive parenting, and establish a safe home.”

UPDATE: December 31st, 2015

STEP BY STEP PURCHASE OF THE FORMER VAN LIEROP FARM SITE

Krista Linden and Neil Van Lierop, sat side by side at a conference table in Puyallup City Hall and signed the final closing documents for the sale of the Van Lierop farm. It was a beautiful day. You could see Mount Rainier from the windows, covered in pink and orange hues against the snow. Not a lot of words were said. It was an emotional moment, one that signified the closing of one family’s legacy, but also the beginning of another. Neil sold his family’s heritage farm, grown and cultivated over 5 generations. Krista realized the first big step of a new legacy, one that will allow this beloved place to continue to serve our community, its families, and many generations to come.

News Tribune, November 20th, 2015

Retired daffodil farmer Neil Van Lierop is pleased that the sale of his family’s property has reached a harmonious resolution. Six of the 24 acres will be purchased by Step By Step, a nonprofit that helps at-risk mothers support healthy babies.